Easy Zero Waste Swaps

Are you trying to get rid of clutter? Are you wasting money, space, and resources? Do you wish you didn’t have so much stuff around your house? If you’ve decluttered, uncluttered, and decluttered again, it might be time to look at your decluttering efforts in a new way.

Start paying attention to your trash.

I know – it sounds goofy. But your trash can actually tell you a lot about where your money is going, and what’s cluttering up your home. If you use your trash as an investigative tool, it can also help you figure out ways to find less wasteful alternatives that will take up less space in your home.

Why I Got Interested in Zero Waste

After the holidays last year, our house was brimming with gifts, boxes, torn wrapping paper, dirty laundry, and half-eaten food that was going bad. We had reached our home’s capacity for junk, and we spent a good two days just detrashing our house. We filled our trash bins so full that we had to wait until the next week’s pickup to completely dispose of all of our trash.

Seeing all of the waste our little family produced over the holidays was sobering. We’re not really over-the-top with our shopping and spending, yet we had a massive amount of stuff that we were throwing out.

Seeing all of our trash led me on down a rabbit hole on the internet that led me to Bea Johnson’s Zero Waste Home. After reading her book, I decided to start making some small changes in our home to reduce our family’s waste.

I knew that we would never be completely zero waste, but some of the changes suggested in the book actually saved us money, helped us reduce clutter, and produced less waste.

Ten Zero Waste Swaps

1. Bring reusable bags to the store instead of using plastic bags.

We’d been using reusable shopping bags for over a year (because our county banned plastic shopping bags), but we still relied on plastic baggies for produce. We were accumulating a lot of plastic bags just from our produce purchases, and I saved each bag because I wanted to re-use them as trash bin liners.

By swapping the plastic produce baggies for these reusable produce bags, we’ve reduced a lot of the plastic trash coming into our home. (Check around your house and see if you have something similar you could use before purchasing new) At some stores, you’ll receive a refund (usually around 5 cents) for each reusable bag you bring in.

Over time, this can add up! I’ve decluttered a lot of the plastic bags I was hoarding, which cleared out a lot of space under our bathroom sinks.

Space Savings = Two under-the-sink cabinets

Financial Savings = Varies depending on if you get a credit for bringing your own bags.

One of the reasons I HAD to have plastic bags was because we were throwing out a ton of diapers. Cloth diapers are pretty easy to find online, but did you know that you can buy cloth pull-ups too?

By changing from disposable pull-ups to the reusable cloth version, we saved a TON of money (we have twins), reduced our waste, and simplified our shopping and cleaning routines.

Space Savings = Drawer and shelf space where we stored and stockpiled pull-ups

Financial Savings = $636/year – We spent about $58/month on pull-ups for our twins,which ended up being $696/year! I subtracted the amount that we spent to invest in the reusable cloth pull ups shown above.

Environmental Impact = WAY less diaper waste going to the landfill. Because our pull-ups don’t get messy often, I just wash them with our regular laundry. Seriously, I’m embarrassed about the amount of waste we were putting out with our disposable diapers. But, at least going forward we’re not making as much waste. BTW – I must admit that making the change to cloth diapers before potty training would have been MUCH more difficult.

3. Use cloth napkins instead of disposable napkins.

We’ve done this for a while, so this wasn’t a true swap for us. But, it is something you can do to really reduce the amount of trash you’re making. Plus, you won’t have to buy napkins anymore, so you’ll be saving some cash.

If you don’t want to invest in cloth napkins, ask around and see if anyone has a set they’d be willing to give you. A lot of people have cloth napkins that they never use!

Financial Savings = $54/year – Assuming that you’d be spending about $4.50/month on a new bundle of disposable napkins. If you end up purchasing new cloth napkins, you’d want to subtract the cost of that investment.

Environmental Impact = Fewer trees used to make disposable napkins. Fewer napkins sent to the landfill. Just imagine a year’s worth of napkins all stacked together, and that’s how much you can save from going to the landfill. For us, that would have been a lot!

If you stop buying plastic water bottles, you’ll save money, and greatly reduce your trash. We still have a small stash of plastic water bottles in our garage for an “emergency,” but for our day-to-day stuff, we fill up our reusable water bottles or just use a glass.

Space Savings = Floor space in our garage that was dedicated to disposable water bottles. Refrigerator real-estate dedicated to chilling the disposable water bottles and soda cans.

Financial Savings = $80/year – Assuming you spent about $10/month on disposable water bottles, and subtract the amount spent on quality reusable water bottles. {$120 – $40 = $80} Savings could be more if you already have a water bottle you could start using.

Environmental Impact = Way fewer bottles going into the landfill or recycling bins. Fewer resources and less energy used to produce plastic water bottles and their packaging.

5. Pack snacks in reusable snack bags instead of plastic baggies.

We used plastic baggies every day for lunches and snacks at school. To cut our plastic baggie consumption, we bought a couple of reusable snack bags in cute patterns that our kiddos liked. They’re washable and take up a lot less space than a huge box of baggies.

Space Savings = Drawer dedicated to baggie storage

Financial Savings = $10/year – We spent about $2 a month on baggies. We also had to invest a little in the reusable baggies. So, we used to spend about $24/year on baggies, and I subtracted the $14 we spent on reusable baggies. If you have something else you could use as a baggie, your savings could be more!

Environmental Impact = Way fewer baggies going into the landfill. Fewer resources and less energy used to produce baggies and their packaging.

After making this switch, I decided that I liked using the reusable stuff way more than the paper towels. They’re more absorbent, and they’re much better at scrubbing yuckies off surfaces. You can store them in a nice basket on your countertop where you used to put your paper towels if you want to make a total switch.

We still use an occasional paper towel from time to time, but having the reusables easily accessible has cut our paper towel consumption way down.

Storing big bundles of paper towels takes up a lot of storage space – maybe one day we’ll make the total switch and we can use that storage space for something else!

Space Savings = Pantry shelf dedicated to paper towel storage.

Financial Savings = $180/year. We used to spend $30 every two months, and we’re still slowly going through the paper towels we already had. Even if you did pick up a package of paper towels once a year, your savings would still be $15o. If you don’t already have rags or towels you could use, subtract the price of anything new you’d be purchasing to replace the paper towels.

Environmental Impact = Fewer paper towels going into the landfill. Fewer resources and less energy used to produce paper towels and their packaging.

7. Use a shampoo bar instead of regular shampoo and conditioner.

Your mileage may vary on this one, but if shampoo bars work for your hair, it’s great! Shampoo bars often come in minimal packaging, and they don’t come with the waste of plastic bottles.

I made the switch from regular shampoo in January, and at first it did NOT go well. We have hard water, and shampoo bars don’t play nice with hard water. We decided to invest in a shower head with a water filter, and since making the switch, the shampoo bar has worked really well for me – and it’s a lot easier to clean our shower doors.

I used to go through a couple of bottles of shampoo and conditioner each month, so making the switch to the less expensive (and less harsh) shampoo bar saves us money! I’m also saving space because I don’t have to keep a stockpile of different shampoos and conditioners I bought with coupons.

Financial Savings = $102/year. Assumes that you’d spend about $10/month on shampoo and conditioner. Shampoo bars need to be replaced about every 4 months, and the one I use costs around $6. {$120 – $18 = $102}

Environmental Impact = Fewer bottles going into the landfill or recycling bins. Fewer resources and less energy used to produce plastic shampoo and conditioner bottles. Depending on which shampoos and conditioners you use, fewer chemicals used.

8. Use handkerchiefs instead of disposable tissues.

I haven’t done this one yet because…knock on wood…I haven’t gotten sick! I wanted to try this one for myself before having the rest of my family try it out, but I haven’t gotten around to it yet.

I found an unopened package of handkerchiefs when I was cleaning out our closet, so I’m planning on putting them to good use the next time I get the sniffles. In the meantime, we’re still set with a pretty decent stockpile of tissues.

Financial Savings = Also varies depending on how many people are in your home, how many times you get sick, and how much you’d normally spend on tissues.

Environmental Impact = Fewer tissues going into the landfill. Fewer resources and less energy used to produce tissues and their packaging.

9. Drink coffee from a reusable mug.

You can bring your commuter mug to coffee shops (and sometimes get a discount for bringing your own mug), or brew your own coffee at home.

Concerned about the waste from coffee filters? Try using a french press to make your coffee. It forces you to make coffee in smaller amounts, and it doesn’t require a filter. I think it tastes better than coffee made in a coffee maker.

Space Savings = None. If you have to buy a new commuter mug, you’ll have to figure out a place to store it.

Financial Savings = $25 if you bring your own mug to the coffee shop and get a 10 cent discount. $570/year if you make coffee at home. This is assuming that you’d buy coffee 250 times a year and spend $3 on each cup, so you’d be spending $750/year at the coffee shop. I subtracted the amount spent to buy a french press ($40), a quality commuter cup ($20), and coffee grounds ($120/year). Savings and expenses will vary depending on your own coffee drinking habits.

Environmental Impact = 250 less plastic tops, paper cups, and cardboard sleeves going into the landfill each year. If you make your coffee at home, you’re also reducing the number of filters that are thrown away each year.

My favorite food storage solution is our Pyrex containers. We get a lot of use out of them, and they don’t degrade like disposable storage containers can. If you don’t want to invest in Pyrex, you can reuse jars to store leftovers.

Space Savings = Space reserved for tippy disposable containers, lids, and baggies. Glass containers may take up more space, but you don’t need as many of them.

Financial Savings = Negligible in the first year. Disposables are definitely cheaper. But, after you invest in reusable containers, you don’t have to replace them. We’ve been using the same Pyrex containers for years.

BONUS: My favorite glass jars! Here are some of the best glass jars you can get for free when you buy your regular groceries. See the video below to check them out:

So, Was Making These Zero Waste Swaps Difficult?

Surprisingly, making these changes was a lot easier than I thought it would be. I have never considered myself to be “crunchy,” and I didn’t know if making these lifestyle changes would be good for our family. Fortunately, we’ve really enjoyed making a lot of the changes, and it’s helped us to look at the stuff we use in a different way.

We’re still adjusting to some of the changes, but for the most part, they’ve just become our new normal. The reduction in clutter and cost savings (for us, over $1632 in a year) has been a nice benefit of doing things to reduce our household waste.

If you’re considering making some zero waste swaps, I’d encourage you to go slowly and try to use up what you already have. Here’s some more ideas to help you get started:

Tips for Making Zero Waste Swaps Work for YOU

Before you buy a new “zero waste” product, look around your house and see if you already have something that could serve the same purpose. Being mindful about using the resources you already have will increase your financial savings, space savings, and positive environmental impact even more!

Only implement the swaps you feel comfortable with. Making zero waste swaps will only work for you if they’re something you think you can stick to long-term.

You don’t have to do things 100 percent to make an impact. Just reducing the amount of disposables you use can make a big difference! Don’t feel bad if you use a paper towel here and there.

Remember that everything you do to reduce waste adds up. Even if it seems like your actions are small, over time you are doing a lot to reduce waste.

Would you ever try some of the zero waste swaps above? Are you already doing some of them? Tell us about it in the comments!

FREE 10-Minute Tasks to Help You Declutter & Organize!

Get realistic, easy decluttering & organizing task checklists delivered to your inbox each week when you sign up for the Organizing Moms newsletter. Join over 8,000 moms who want less stress, less mess, and a more organized life!

You did it! You're now signed up for the 10-Minute Decluttering & Organizing Tasks System. Check your email to confirm your subscription and get your first checklist!

There was an error submitting your subscription. Please try again.

First Name

Email Address

We use this field to detect spam bots. If you fill this in, you will be marked as a spammer.